Coral community composition and reef development at the Similan Islands, Andaman Sea, in response to strong environmental variations

Marine Ecology Progress Series

Cornelia Roder¹  Gertraud M. Schmidt¹  Claudio Richter¹  Niphon Phongsuwan¹  Carin Jantzen¹  Somkiat Khokiattiwong¹ 

关键词: Benthic−pelagic coupling;    Coral community;    Similan Islands;    Andaman Sea;    Upwelling;    Internal waves;   

DOI  :  10.3354/meps09682

学科分类：海洋学与技术

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: The Similan Islands, a Thai archipelago in the Andaman Sea located near the shelf break, are subjected to frequent (up to several events per hour) and abrupt changes in physico-chemical conditions, particularly during the dry season (NE monsoon, January through April) and to an intense monsoon season with strong surface wave action (May to October). The exposed west slopes of the islands feature more coral species, but lack a carbonate reef framework. By contrast, the sheltered east sides show a complex reef framework dominated by massive Porites. Our results suggest that the sudden changes in temperature, pH and nutrients (drops of up to 10°C and 0.6 U and increases of up to 9.4 µmol NO_x l⁻¹, respectively) due to pulsed upwelling events may rival the importance of surface waves and storms in shaping coral distribution and reef development.

【 授权许可】

Unknown